New Force Rising
by JSamuelWrites
Summary: An alternative ending to Return of the Jedi.
1. Part One

_Author Note:_ This fic mostly focuses on the battle between Darth Vader and Luke, from the point where Luke is hiding, but also includes cut-aways to the action going on with the fleet. Happenings on Endor are not covered here, as everything there goes down pretty much as in the movie.

* * *

Part One

Luke hid in the shadows of the Death Star's throne room; He listened as Vader, his own father, goaded him.

"Give yourself to the darkside, Luke. It is the only way to save your friends. Yes, your thoughts betray you, son. Your feelings for them are strong, especially for –" Vader stopped, he just read something very disturbing. "Sister? So, you have a twin sister. Obi-Wan was wise to hide her from me, but now his failure is complete. If you will not turn to the darkside perhaps she will."

"NEVER!" screamed Luke as he sprang from his hiding place. He ignited his brilliant jade lightsabre and proceeded to lay into this perversion of evil that had once been his father. However, it was not just Vader that fueled his anger.

In his mind Luke could hear his uncle Owen saying "Just another year," and he could hear Ben - "He was betrayed and murdered by a young student of mine called Vader… from a certain point of view." Luke could hear Yoda telling him he was not a Jedi.

Luke concluded, as he drove Vader back, that there was no lightside; that all he had been taught was built on lies, and now he controlled his destiny, not two Jedi masters who were too scared to do what Luke _was_ doing.

Blow upon blow fell on Vader's scarlet blade. The Dark Lord Of The Sith was on the retreat. He had no counter to the anger his son had unleashed. In truth, he would have been proud if he wasn't too busy fighting for his life.

 _This isn't how it was supposed to happen_ , thought Vader. _Why did I stop Luke from hacking down Palpatine? We could have ruled the galaxy. It's too late now._

All of a sudden Vader fell to his knees, exhausted from the amount of strain his scared body was forced to endure. He lifted up his sabre to ward off another blow, but in his weakened condition he miscalculated and felt his hand come off at the wrist. Despite himself Vader let lose an anguished groan, not so much from the pain as from the realisation that this was the end.

Suddenly the Emperor was out of his throne, the final test of his new student now at hand.

"Good!" Palpatine gloated. "Your hate has made you powerful. Now fulfill your destiny and take your father's place at my side."

Luke turned to stare at the humbled Vader. They were just the same, in anger Vader had taken Luke's hand but now Luke had done exactly that. They were just the same, except now Luke simply had the advantage.

Suddenly there was a flash that seared deep into Luke's eyes and brain. Time seemed to stop. As Luke blinked the light from his eyes he suddenly noticed old Ben was standing beside the fallen Vader.

"Ben?" asked Luke, suddenly aware that in this stilled moment his voice seemed very loud. "What's going on?"

"I am not the one you knew as Ben," replied the image, "I chose this form to make it easier for you to accept. Ben was the man who introduced you to the Force, so this form was chosen to help you with what comes next."

"What come's next?" Luke questioned, this time suddenly aware that he sounded very much the Tattooine farm-boy with no idea of the workings of the galaxy.

"Quite simply the time has come for me to intervene," stated the calm voice of Ben. "The very fabric of the Force is in danger and, if I failed to act, the balance of the Force would be forever altered."

"Is this Palpatine's doing?" enquired a puzzled Luke.

"In a way, yes. Palpatine is merely acting as the Force intended him to act. Like most corporeal beings with an affinity for the Force he believed that the Force was his tool to achieve his ends. But he is a servant of the Force."

"You mean the Force was served by Palpatine murdering Trillions on Alderan? The millions more he kills every time the Empire mobilises, and the Force was served by the thousands of Jedi he and my father slaughtered?!" Luke demanded, unwilling to entertain the idea.

"It will be best if I show you, Luke Skywalker," replied the image of Ben Kenobi, with that maddening sense of calm that was so familiar to Luke yet not quite the same Ben he remembered.

With another flash of light Luke's mind was filled with thousands of images at once. He saw a being of Light binding with his presence in the Force. He watched the boy become a man, fighting along side a younger Ben Kenobi. This being of pure Light could only have been Anakin Skywalker, Luke's own father.

Years went by in seconds, he saw this Light become corrupted by the machinations of politicians; restricted by the jealousies of Jedi that feared this being's power. Worst of all, Luke saw a being of pure Darkness and shadow bask in the Light of Anakin; he saw the Dark man whisper poisonous truths into Anakin's ears.

In the depths of the fires of galaxy wide war he saw the Light in Anakin begin to wane, but that was not the end. More images of the past flowed into Luke's traumatised mind. He saw his father fall in love with a woman who looked so much like Leia that it was painful. He saw the Light in Anakin fade more as his soul went to war with itself. Love for the woman destined to give him children, fighting for the love he had for the Jedi and Kenobi in particular. In the midst of this war the being of Darkness pulled strings and sucked yet more of Anakin's Light away. The Darkness became Chancellor of the Republic; became Dark as even the blackest night, as war and death ended the light and lives of untold quadrillions of beings in the galaxy.

Luke wanted to the images to stop. Intellectually he knew Anakin had been a Jedi who was corrupted, and who ended up betraying and murdering his friends and comrades, but now he realised he hadn't ever really processed that information. Now he had no choice but to process it.

He saw fear and doubt snuff out the last of Anakin's light and, with the flash of a lightsaber and a cry of pain, he saw his father forsake the Light and allow the Darkness to enter his soul. He saw the man the Holonet News called the Man Without Fear conquered by fear.

More images followed. Luke saw early model Stormtroopers turn on Jedi across the galaxy, and saw his father murder young and old Jedi in their Temple. The soundtrack to this was the evil cackle of Palpatine as the Sith had their revenge and the galaxy was plunged into the endless night of Palpatine's rule. Liberty died to rapturous applause in the waning days of the Senate.

On a planet made of fire and brimstone Luke saw what was now Vader launch a desperate attack against Kenobi. He felt the phantom pains of a lightsaber severing limbs, and the agony of fire consuming what was left of Vader's body.

In the midst of this Luke witnessed his own birth followed by Leia's. On what was to become the first secret base of the Rebellion he saw his mother cry for Anakin and whisper that she was sorry even as the life left her broken body.

"Enough!" roared Luke, finally able to give voice to the invasive images that threatened to drive him beyond grief. He had known for several years now what had happened - how Anakin had fallen from grace. Mon Mothma, one of the Rebellions architects and driving forces had taken the time after Cloud City to tell him what she remembered of the Republic's dying days, but to see it and not be able to look away threatened to break Luke's sanity.

With a final flash of blinding light Luke found himself in a familiar swamp sitting on his favourite log outside Yoda's small hut. Standing beside him again was the image of Ben Kenobi as Luke had seen him last.

"I am sorry you had to see all that, Luke Skywalker," said the pale ghost of Ben, "If I could have spared you I would have. You needed to see the truth as it happened in order to enact you role in the next part."

 _To be continued…_


	2. Part Two

Part Two

"You needed to see the truth as it happened in order to enact you role in the next part."

 _The next part?_ Luke was intrigued. "What is my role to be?"

"You are to be the will of the Force. You must fulfil the destiny your father abandoned and bring a balance to it," replied the image of Ben.

"And how am I supposed to do that? I'm a farm-boy with less than a few months training here on this swamp. How am I supposed to do what my father with years of training couldn't do?"

"As much as your father failed so did the Jedi. I appear to you as a representative of the Living Force. Live is not always logical, chaos is a vital part of living. The Jedi ritualised and programmed their understanding of the Force. This is not how it was supposed to be, and as a result the Jedi lost a vital connection to the Force - to us. While this was happening Palpatine and his forbearers, the ones you call Sith, managed to manipulate what we gifted them and darkness began to snuff out life. As was explained to you by the one you called Yoda, Life is what creates the Force. The Sith evolved into a parasite bent on self destruction."

Suddenly Luke was aware of another presence. The ghost of Yoda appeared, sitting on the log opposite him.

"Pooled what power we had left, we did. Through space and time did we search. Manipulate life to create Anakin Skywalker, we managed."

Luke began a small nodding of his head, and the image of Yoda continued, "To hunt and weaken the Sith was to be this being's purpose. Making the Jedi aware that its dogma was flawed was also a secondary purpose."

"The what went wrong, Master?" asked Luke, slipping into assumed habits due to the familiar back-to-front speech of his former teacher.

"Our own lesson we forgot. Chaos entered the plan. Aware of our creation, the Sith became and to stop us they tried," answered Yoda.

"Palpatine's teacher had a very strong link to the Unifying Force," the ghost of Kenobi continued to explain. "He received visions of Anakin being created by the Force and he set plans to corrupt our creation as quickly as he could. His manipulations ensured that Anakin would be born to a life filled with chaos and doubt, using his puppets to ensure whatever stability Anakin found were swiftly taken away."

Yoda nodded is agreement. "Bound by fear, Anakin was. Weak it made him."

"So what exactly do you want from me?" asked Luke.

"Balance you must bring, Luke Skywalker. The Sith and the Jedi must be no more. Life creates the Force and the Force strengthens life. A servant of life you must be. End it were you must, direct it when you can. Two sides of the coin, Light and Dark are. Without either side the coin ceases to be." Now the ghost of the Jedi master shook his head at the thought of it. "To us you must listen. Your father's mistakes you must not make."

More visions filled Luke's battered mind. He saw images of Vader hunting and slaughtering the few Jedi that escaped the mass execution orchestrated against them. He saw a weakened Vader in his meditation chamber plagued by the ghosts of thousands of Jedi, and by the cries of his mother. He felt contempt as Vader became at home and, although not entirely comfortable, he grew to know the intrigues and backstabbing of Imperial Politics.

The last vision he saw was of Vader looming over Leia, as his torture droid tried in vein to extract the location of the Rebellion's main base from her mind. If he was half the Jedi he had been he would have seen that Leia was his own daughter.

Now with another familiar flash of light, Luke found himself back in his own body in the moment he last left it; his lightsaber still pointed at Vader's throat.

With a rush of blood Luke reversed grip on his lightsaber and drove it through his father's heart.

It was done.

Vader was weak. A quick death was really a kindness, compared to the tortures he had forced Han to endure.

"Rise my apprentice," said Palpatine. "Join me to watch the final stand of the Rebel Alliance."

"I don't think so," snarled Luke igniting his sabre once more, then advancing on the aging Emperor.

* * *

In the space above Endor, great battleships poured fire onto weakening shields. Fighters dodged and weaved around huge turbolaser bolts, and on ruined hulks of several capital ships men and women died in great number.

On the Imperial Command Ship, Executor Admiral Piet panicked. He had been assured by the Emperor himself that the Rebels were no threat to his fleet, yet he'd lost two of his finest Star Destroyers and the rest were being severely damaged by Rebel suicide ships - transports filled bow to stern with high energy explosives. His own Star Dreadnaught had its engines and thrusters severely damaged, hampering maneuverability and its ability to fight.

Turning to his comm officer he ordered, "Patch me through to the Emperor."

The lieutenant pressed the necessary buttons but was just answered with static. "The Emperor seems to be unavailable, sir."

"Blast it! I'll have to handle this myself. It may cost me my command, but at least there will be a Fleet for me to lose. Comms, patch me through to all ships in the fleet." Piet waited for the nod before he continued. "All ships, this is Admiral Piet. We are out of contact with the Emperor and the Death Star. We are officially on our own. Reform the fleet into defensive formation Alpha, and protect yourselves. Target the Cruisers as a priority."

* * *

On the Rebel Star Cruiser Home One, Ackbar looked on at the Imperial Fleet. He was confused. Why had it taken so long for them to get into gear? It was unusually sloppy. He knew that if the mass of Star Destroyers reformed they would be able to concentrate their fire and pick off his Cruisers one at a time.

"All ships, harass those Star Destroyers, concentrate fire on the engines and reactors. Wing Commanders organise strafing runs with missiles and torpedoes on the bridges."

The seven remaining Star Cruisers closed in even nearer to their Imperial adversaries. Turbolaser bolts crashed back and forth piercing shields, blackening and buckling hull armour. The Imperials of the Fleet were used to Rebel ships scattering rather than standing toe to toe with them and engagements at such distances had been unheard of since the end of the Clone War.

* * *

Back in the throne room Palpatine hurled a blast of Force Lightning at Luke, but Luke - firmly centred in the Force - absorbed it on the blade of his sabre and kept advancing. Palpatine fired another and another until Luke was almost on him. Seeing that there was no other way, Palpatine then reached out with the Force and called Vader's lightsabre to his hand. With a sneer of disgust at such a crude form of battle, Palpatine ignited a lightsaber for the first time in over twenty years.

Luke was on him in an instant, all fury and no finesse; not even a recognisable form. So unlike the Jedi Palpatine had fought in the past. Much more like the Inquisitors he empowered, or his various Hands.

Back and forth across the throne room they went, hurling and batting away every object in the room that wasn't nailed down, and even a few that were.

Palpatine felt his strength start to wane. _Skywalker must be very powerful indeed to have killed Vader and to fight me to a standstill._ It was the first time he'd felt fear in years. At first he almost didn't recognise it, but now it was tangible in his throat.

Skywalker, by contrast, seemed to be only getting stronger; pulling tricks that Yoda would never have had the time to teach him. _How did he learn it?_ The veil of Darkness Palpatine habitually surrounded himself with began to unravel and fade, while Luke himself was purely centred in the moment. The Living Force whispered in his ear all the things he could do; things he never imagined a Jedi _or_ a Sith could do. He had full access to a whole range of new abilities. The Force truly was his ally.

Palpatine decided to give it one last try. He fell onto his back, extinguishing his sabre.

"Don't kill me, young Skywalker. You can have anything you want."

 _To be continued…_


	3. Part Three

Part Three

Palpatine decided to give it one last try. He fell onto his back, extinguishing his sabre.

"Don't kill me, young Skywalker. You can have anything you want."

"Can you give me back my father, my aunt and uncle, a normal life, justice and peace?" retorted Luke, lowering his guard but still prepared for treachery. _Treachery is as natural to the Sith as sand is to a Jawa_ , he thought.

"Anything given is not worth the price, Skywalker. We are Sith, my boy! We take. Spare me and I will step aside and become you're trusted aide. I'll show you how to take what you want," Palpatine pleaded, unable to fully supress the snarl from his tone.

"Why should I join you? You might need me but I don't need you as anything but a corpse." Even as he said it, guilt and a moment of doubt shadowed on Luke's face.

This was the moment Palpatine had been waiting for. He had regained some of his strength during the exchange and with a manic glee hurled every bit of Force Energy he had through his fingers. A huge chain of purple and black lightning crashed into Luke, hurling him half way across the throne room.

"Young fool, only now at the end do you understand!" Palpatine gloated as he pumped more and more energy into the collapsed body of Skywalker.

Luke felt nothing but white-hot agony as his life began to be sucked out of him.

* * *

Aboard the Rebel Flagship there was a sudden buzz from the sensors station. The Imperial Communication ship had been destroyed and every sensor on Home One was trained on the skeletal structure of the Death Star.

"Admiral!" cried the senior sensor officer, "The Death Star's planetary shielding is down. Solo did it!"

"All Offensive Fighter Squadrons break off and commence primary attack on the main reactor as per Scenario A. All defensive screening squads break off and join the attack," ordered Ackbar, knowing that he was ordering the slow death of his fleet's capital ships.

"Red Leader heading in."

"Green Leader on our run."

"Blue Leader acknowledged."

Hundreds of fighters still capable to fighting broke off their attacks or defensive duties and dived into the superstructure of the Death Star leaving harassing TIES of all types free to batter the shields of the remaining Rebel capital ships. In the lead, high speed Rebel A-Wings launched missiles widening openings and destroying what little operational point defence weaponry the Death Star still had functional. Just behind the A-Wing squads came the Millennium Falcon and it's accompanying X-Wings, lead by Wedge Antillies who was commanding Rogue Squadron in the absence of Luke Skywalker.

After the main attacking squadrons came the mixed B and Y-Wing Bombers of the fleet, lagging behind, acting as a distraction for the much faster TIE Starfighters and Interceptors of the Imperial Fleet. Dozens of fighters shredded each other in dogfights restricted to lasers only; the Rebel fighters having depleted their meagre supply of torpedoes and missiles. Little super novas erupted in the black of space, each nova signifying the end of a life.

* * *

In the cockpit of the Falcon, Lando gripped the controls so hard his knuckles ached. With the amount of debris and fire falling from pursuing TIEs, he had no chance to even blink. The surrounding motley contingent of A-Wings, X-Wings, Y-Wings and even a few ancient Head-hunters tried to maneuver what little they could. After what seemed like a lifetime they were through the gauntlet into the reactor core. Few Rebel fighters had survived.

"Wedge, use your last torpedo to take out the power regulator, I'll take the reactor. The rest of you get out of here, clear us a road out, take out as many of those damn TIEs as you can!" ordered Lando.

A course of replies came through while Lando concentrated on his approach. If he got it wrong the dissipated energy from the reactor would tear the Falcon apart.

It let lose with both quad turrets. The guns thudded as they let loose their crimson streams of light and energy. At the same time Wedge fired his Proton Torpedo at the regulator.

Within microseconds both targets were destroyed. The explosion was shattering; fire hurled out in every direction. The remaining Rebel fighters scrambled to get out, while slow to react TIEs where vaporised.

* * *

Back in the throne room, the deck lurched and shuddered. Palpatine, surprised, ceased his slow murder of Skywalker.

 _What the kriff?_ he wondered. It would be the last thing he ever wondered. With the attacks stopped, Luke once again immersed himself in the Force. Fuelled by pain, rage and the Force he leaped forward, called Vader's lightsabre to his hand and swiftly decapitated Palpatine in one swift movement. The body took one step back and then fell over a safety railing. Luke was so exhausted that the irony failed to make an impression.

Evacuation alarms started blaring, bringing him to his senses. _The reactor must have been destroyed._ In his mind's eye he recalled the briefing aboard Home One, and he wondered how many of his friends were left alive. Once again the Living Force - or was it merely his own desires? - began to whisper instructions in his ear; telling him what the best course of action was. All sense of idle speculation faded as Luke clipped Vader's lightsaber to his belt and called his own sabre to his right hand. He had to get to a hangar bay before the Death Star exploded. Luckily for Luke, there was a senior officer's hangar not too far away. Or so the voice of Ben Kenobi told him.

 _To be continued…_


	4. Part Four

Part Four

Running with a speed only the Force could provide, Luke raced down the corridor past panicked officers and Stormtroopers. He made it to the hangar amid the thundering sound of warning klaxons and the sound of the mighty Death Star dying from inside. Being unfamiliar with most kinds of Imperial ship, Luke's choices were limited.

"Hey, who are you?!" called a fleeing Stormtrooper. Luke chose not to answer, instead swiftly igniting both his lightsabers and cutting off the trooper's hand while also shortening him at the knee. Other troopers, seeing a threat in the area, immediately forgot escape; years of training taking over the urge to flee. Luke cut them all down. In some cases he even managed to parry blaster bolts back at those who shot them.

Luke was a crimson and jade blur cutting down everything that got in his way. In a matter of minutes the deck was covered with the corpses of dead white armoured troops and grey uniformed Imperial Navy Officers while he stood unscathed. Out of the corner of his eye he saw an Imperial Shuttle, one exactly like the ship that had brought him to Endor almost a lifetime ago. Finally, a ship he could pilot. Luke leapt over the bodies and ran up the ramp.

* * *

In the superstructure of the dying Death Star things looked grim. Most of Lando's command were destroyed, only Wedge and an A-Wing pilot called Tycho Celchu survived. All the rest had impacted on debris or where shot down by the remaining TIE Interceptors on their tail. The Falcon was in bad shape, the sensor dish had been lost, the ships armour was scored or vaporised from dozens of laser hits and the shields were failing under this new onslaught.

"We'll make it, this is the easy part," Lando assured his co-pilot, with more enthusiasm than he felt.

The Falcon may have been the fastest ship in any fleet, but was it faster than the growing fireball forming up behind him?

Considering this, he looked up from his instruments and then saw it: the deep black of space and the welcoming twinkle of stars like diamonds.

"YEEEHAAAA!" roared Lando with a Rebel yell of triumph as he shot out of the exhaust port like a torpedo. Behind him the Death Star exploded with the grace and destruction of a star going supernova.

Just behind him, a perusing TIE Interceptor finally got a target lock and the pilot pressed and held his triggers.

The Falcon exploded before Lando even knew he'd been hit.

Almost instantly, Wedge side slipped in and opened up on the TIE, shattering it. But Wedge could feel no triumph at killing the killer of Lando and four other good men. Neither did he have the time to dwell on his grief. He and Tycho headed towards the Rebel Cruiser Home One: two fighters out of the one hundred and thirty that had entered the attack. Costly wasn't the word for it.

* * *

On the Command Ship Executor, Admiral Piet heard a commotion at the main turbolift.

"What the hell is going on there?" he demanded, as he looked over he saw the black clad figure of Luke Skywalker.

All commanders in Death Squadron had been made aware of Skywalker's dossier as a Rebel Officer and especially one Lord Vader took personal interest in.

"Are you in command here?" Skywalker enquired.

"Yes, I am," Piet told him, with a snort of derision.

Luke raised his fist and squeezed, informing him, "Wrong answer."

Piet felt the invisible grip on his throat, a grip he'd had nightmares of feeling since he became Admiral of Vader's Flagship over Hoth.

"Let me rephrase, Admiral. Who is in charge here?"

"You are, sir," Piet wheezed, struggling to breathe. He was instantly aware that if Skywalker was here and the Death Star was in pieces circumstances were about to vastly change.

"That's better. What's the status of the Fleet?" Skywalker continued to ask, planting himself in the command chair above the crew pit.

Piet studied the latest report from fleet Intelligence on his datapad.

"Five Star Destroyers lost, two more crippled and in need of a major refit, the Communications Ship lost and ninety percent of our TIEs are gone. The Rebels are faring much better than projections allowed: four Cruisers are destroyed, their suicide ships have been destroyed or they've impacted, several Frigates have been disabled and the have almost no fighters left. Your orders?"

"Patch me through to the Rebel Cruiser Home One. I assume your slicers and analysis team have identified it?"

"Yes, my lord. We were just about to destroy it. Chimaera and Allegiance have it almost dead in space, and we're about to enter firing range."

"Cease fire Admiral, and order all ships to do the same. Patch me through to them open channel. Let everyone hear."

"Affirmative sir, we're broadcasting on all channels."

"Rebel Fleet, this is Luke Skywalker in Command of the Executor and the Imperial Fleet."

"Luke?" Admiral Ackbar replied, almost instantly. "How in the name of the Force did you get there? What happened to General Solo and the Princess?"

"I was separated and taken prisoner by Vader and the Emperor. I killed them in the Death Stars throne room."

At hearing this pronouncement, two Stormtroopers reached for their weapons and fired at Luke. Luke snatched his Lightsabers of his belt and parried the bolts back at the Stormtroopers burning deep scorches into their white chest plates.

"Luke? Are you okay?!" yelled Ackbar

"Fine, Admiral. I have a deal for you: take your fleet and leave."

"But what about the Imperials?"

"They're mine now. I've stepped on to Palpatine throne, and things will change. The Force demands it, but we can't have the chaos of rebellion. The Galaxy needs Order and a common united purpose or it won't survive.

"You have five minutes to recover your fighters and leave, too much blood has been shed this day. Don't add to it, and don't make me add to it," pleaded Luke. He was well beyond weary.

Trusting Luke, Ackbar gave the order: "All ships, this is Admiral Ackbar. All surviving fighters are ordered to return to their carriers, we're done here."

Suddenly a new Imperial Fleet dropped out of hyperspace, ships from every corner of the galaxy appeared. Fleet tenders, gigantic battle cruisers, which dwarfed even Executor. An impressive show of Imperial might.

"Ah, Lord Skywalker," ventured a comm officer from the crew pit. "We're receiving a signal from the largest ship of the new fleet, they are demanding to speak to The Emperor or Lord Vader."

"Delay them, if you can," requested Luke, calmly, as he reached out with the Force and searched for the commander of the new Imperial Fleet.

Shock filled Luke as he discovered that Palpatine had a deadman switch with a built in hypercomm. Palpatine had set it up that if he died in sudden circumstances a Vengeance Fleet would be immediately called to that section of the Galaxy to destroy whatever remained of his enemies and allies.

Once more, the Living Force came to Luke's aid. With deep concentration, Luke flooded the commanders of the Vengeance Fleet with confusion.

Deeply ingrained training was ignored as gunners targeting Imperial and Rebel ships alike suddenly found themselves unable to fire.

"Admiral," called Luke to Piett, his face beaded with perspiration from the effort of clouding so many minds at once. "Can you reform our fleet to protect the Rebels? This Vengeance Fleet has but one purpose. Its sole job is to destroy any evidence that Palpatine has died, and that evidence includes this ship and its accompanying Star Destroyers. I think enough men have died this day, don't you?"

Piett was not used to being spoken to so politely on the bridge of Vader's personal ship and, despite himself, he felt himself warming to Skywalker. Imperial scuttlebutt had it that Luke was Vader's own son, and he certainly had the same man management techniques, however he got the distinct impression that if Skywalker crushed his throat he might actually regret it.

"Imperial Fleet, this is Admiral Piett. We are in danger here. Reform to screen the Rebel Star Cruisers. Do not fire on them. Prepare to receive orders."

Luke never took his eyes of Vengeance Fleet as it slowly faded while his own fleet reformed to protect his rebel friends.

One Star Destroyer, however, was not moving. It brought its mighty guns to bear on Executor and let lose a volley across its bow.

Luke narrowed his eyes as the heavy turbolaser bolts shot past the nose of his Star Destroyer.

"Piett you can't be suggesting with work with this Rebel scum!" came a voice over the Bridge Comm.

"Vikko, follow your orders. This other fleet is here to destroy us. Palpatine is dead. The New Order is dead." cried out Piett.

Vikko's Star Destroyer did not reply any further. Dipping its bow, it brought all it heavy guns to bare on Executor and let lose a new barrage of fire.

 _To be continued…_


	5. Part Five

Part Five

Triggered by the death of Palpatine, a vengeance fleet had converged on the remaining ships, in order to wipe them out – Rebel and Alliance alike. Luke had managed to confuse the captain through the Force, while convincing all the other ships to stand down and scatter. All but one.

Dipping its bow, Vikko's Star Destroyer brought all it heavy guns to bare on Executor and let loose a new barrage of fire.

The Executor's shields, already heavily weakened by hours of battle, gave way under the onslaught. Armoured hull blackened and boiled off into space, several shots exploded against the main hanger destroying many decks before automatic damage control kicked in and sealed affected the ones.

Without giving any orders, Luke used his new powers and understanding of the Force to seek retribution. With a mere thought he saw through the eyes of the gunnery teams on the Executor.

As one, scores of turbolasers lanced out striking Vikko's ship, Crimson Dawn. With pinpoint accuracy the Bridge Tower of Crimson Dawn was obliterated by a stream of constant fire. Shields buckled and the bridge was destroyed in an instant.

Luke released his hold on the gunners, his point made. Controlling those gunners while still holding control of the Vengeance Fleet gunners had taxed him to his limits and he sagged in his chair.

The remaining Star Destroyers of Luke's Imperial fleet lost no time in following their orders and forming a protective barrier around the seven remaining Mon Cal Cruisers of the Rebel Fleet.

With an unerring life of its own communication channels opened between Rebel and Imperial ships. In nanoseconds feeds from the bridges of Home One and it's surviving fleet joined a wealth of information shared between Executor and its fleet.

* * *

Aboard the Flagship of Vengeance Fleet, the Dark Jedi Manok Desa felt the echo of every action Luke carried out. _This Jedi must be powerful indeed_ , he thought. Luke had killed Palpatine and was now working miracles of the Force Desa could only dream of.

Desa and his fleet had been stationed in the Galactic Core; his existence a secret to all in the Imperial establishment. Palpatine had recruited him as a Padewan on the streets of Coruscant. Faced with the choice of death in unbearable pain or servitude to the Sith, Desa had had to accept.

As a Padewan, Desa had shown a gift for Battle Meditation and he had been apprenticed to one of the Jedi assigned to the Judiciary Fleets, assigned to keep order in the Old Republic. Try as he might he could not remember the face of his former Master. Palpatine had killed him, he supposed.

Sitting in the command chair of his Star Dreadnaught Vengeance, Desa observed the tactical analysis. Vengeance Fleet massively out-gunned even the combined strength of the Rebels and fallen Imperials. This shouldn't take long.

Desa opened his mind to the Force and willed his gunners to destroy the Imperial and Rebel Fleet. His eyes then opened wide in shock, as he found that his Battle Meditation skills were being blocked and he could barely feel the connection the Force gave him to Vengeance Fleet. This Skywalker was displaying a level of power that astounded him. For the first time since he had gave himself to Palpatine, Desa felt the ice cold tingle of fear creep up his spine.

* * *

Back aboard Executor, Luke gazed at the much larger Vengeance and its fleet. He felt totally out of his depth - a thrice-orphaned farm boy with delusions of grandeur, at best he was a talented pilot. Fleet engagements were way beyond any training he'd had as part of Alliance. Even with his limited experience it was obvious that his combined fleet was outgunned plus every ship, Rebel and Imperial alike was suffering from heavy damage. Luke knew he could use the Force to kill every crew member aboard the Vengeance Fleet ships, but the Living Force presence in his consciousness told him that such an action must be a last ditch effort, and to commit mass murder in that way would change him for the worst permanently.

"Admiral Piett can you get me a channel to the enemy flagship?" he requested.

Piett nodded to the communications officer and the channel was opened.

"Imperial Fleet this is Luke Skywalker, we seem to be at an impasse. Enough people have died this day. My senses tell me that a Jedi is in command, meet with me on the surface of Endor and we can settle this once and for all."

The view screen of Executor snapped to life showing a dark clad human, he wore plasteel armour of the deepest night and Luke couldn't help but notice an unusually long lightsaber handle at his belt.

"Skywalker, you are outgunned and out manned. Surrender now and I'll make your death quick," snarled Manok Desa.

"Your guns seem to be having a little trouble firing," quipped Luke. "Meet me as I have requested or I will use the Force to rip your fleet apart."

Luke had no doubt he could do this, but drawing on that much power would probably kill him. He may have no choice.

"Fine, Endor in thirty time parts," agreed Desa, "Follow my beacon."

The view screen blinked out and Luke sagged in his chair, aware that the limits of his new powers were being pushed. _If it comes to a fight I must end it quick,_ thought Luke.

With a nod and a prod of the Force, Admiral Piett and a contingent of Stormtroopers followed Luke to the turbolift.

* * *

On the moon of Endor, Desa paced back and forth. He was not as strong as Skywalker; he could not possibly stand against a being so powerful. Yet his duty to his master was to delay as much as possible. Aboard The Vengeance, a clone of Palpatine was being created. How much of this clone would be Palpatine was a mystery, but Desa trusted his Master and knew he must do his duty as he always had.

 _To be continued..._


	6. Part Six

Part Six

Desa had chosen a clearing deep in the forest, far away from the Imperial Garrison. Accompanying him was a squad of Elite Stormtroopers and a few Force sensitive acolytes undergoing training to become Hands of the Emperor. He was aware that Skywalker could easily bombard the planet – if the situations were reversed that's exactly what he would do – but Skywalker seemed too damned sincere. Desa's Force senses detected no deception within Luke, just a desire to end the conflict.

As he turned this over in his mind, a heavy shuttle appeared over the horizon. Desa could feel the shining presence of Skywalker, but there was another presence too. Strange.

The shuttle landed with a gentle bump and, from the ramp, emerged a squad of three Stormtroopers and three Alliance Commandos. The ramifications of this were not lost on Desa. Behind them emerged Admiral Piett and Ackbar.

 _Force, he's laying it on thick,_ thought Desa signalling his own troops to readiness.

Finally Skywalker emerged flanked by Leia Organa, a scruffy looking smuggler, and the largest Wookie Desa had ever seen.

"Greetings," offered Skywalker. "Might I have your name before we begin?"

"I am Manok Desa, and I know who you and your lackeys are. Let's get this over with," snarled Desa, reaching out with the Force and flooding his senses with awareness.

He shrugged off his midnight-black cloak and pulled his lightsaber from his belt.

Luke watched with a detached fascination as a crimson blade emerged from each end of the long lightsaber, then ignited his own jade and crimson sabers with the customary snap hiss and prepared himself for the eventual attack. In his mind he heard the voice of the Unifying Force, advising him how to prepare for an opponent with a double bladed lightsaber.

With a roar of rage Desa bolted forward with Force enhanced speed, the Lightsaber in his hands a crimson blur. Luke was stunned by the fury of the attack yet managed to deflect every blow that came towards him.

Back and forth across the clearing they battled. Luke was totally immersed in the Force; he let go his conscious self and it felt like his two lightsabers moved of their own accord. Yoda had told him that we were luminous beings and never before had this felt so true. On the physical level, lightsaber blades clashed at speeds the spectators found hard to follow. But, on the higher plane, Luke and Desa probed back and forth, each using the Force to attempt to break the others mind, bones, and blood vessels.

Luke had no idea Jedi battle could be like this. Vader had only ever been toying with him, trying to make him realise how little he knew. Palpatine, by contrast, had been pure evil. He could have killed Skywalker with a thought but chose instead to kill him slowly.

With a jolt, Luke realised that two of the hooded figures that had accompanied Desa were Force sensitive. Their powers were negligible but they were flooding Desa with energy, ensuring the fight continued and revitalising him much in the same way Luke was being nourished by the Will of the Living and Unifying Force.

As Luke battled with this Dark Jedi, Leia watched on. As it had with Luke, the Living Force spoke to her; showed her the battle Luke had against Vader to protect her from him. Leia felt a wave of love for her newfound brother. She had known a connection to him from the moment he stepped into her cell on the first Death Star, and had felt a somewhat similar but also very different connection to the cocky smuggler who had accompanied him. Even then she dreaded the day she would have to choose between the two. Now, thankfully, she never would.

The Living Force spoke to her with the voice of Bail Organa, her adopted father. It explained how it had helped and guided Luke this past day to protect the very fabric of the Force from the parasitic nature of Palpatine's Sith.

In her mind she saw a vision of the cloning chamber aboard the Vengeance. In its single occupied pod, a familiar face was forming. Without the corrupting influence of the Darkside, Palpatine looked so handsome and peaceful, like a kindly uncle. But Leia needed no reminding that this kindly uncle had exterminated the Jedi, eradicated numerous worlds, destroyed the Republic, and gave evil men like Tarken the power and ability to destroy her homeworld. With a thought her mind became a fist and she clenched the fist around the cloning pod.

The still forming body of Palpatine's clone was crushed and a wave of chemicals flooded the chamber. Leia used the Force to ignite the fluid and any chance of Palpatine's resurrection was snuffed out in cleansing flame.

After this, her awareness returned to her body just as Luke leapt over the Dark Jedi and impailed two of Desa's companions with each of his blades.

Luke smiled with triumph as the Dark Acolytes died; not at their passing, but with the realisation that this was nearly the end. Victory turned to defeat, however, as Desa reacted to the death of his assistants. Rather than back off as Luke expected, Desa swept out with his double bladed lightsaber and swept it across Skywalker's right wrist at the same time his kicked out with his boot and broke his wrist.

Desa cackled as he prepared the coup de grace with a stylish flury of his double bladed lightsaber.

Luke cried out in shock. The Force was infinite but his ability to call on it was not. In the last few hours Luke had been relying on the Force heavily and, as it faded, every scratch and wound suffered since the throne room of the Death Star affected him anew.

Desa felt an elation he had never felt in his life. He had been a servant all his life, first as a child of the Jedi and its servatude to the Republic, then as a slave to Palpatines will. As he fought Luke he had felt the clone of Palpatine die. He was free! Time to finish Skywalker and his friends.

In the atmosphere above Endor, the debris of the exploded Death Star began to penetrate orbit. Despite being incomplete the Death Star was much larger than the original, that had been destroyed over Yavin IV. Even so, large chunks of wreckage – some the size of a small cruiser – began to rain down on Endor.

Streaks of fire scorched the sky distracting Desa in his moment of triumph. With a final burst of the Force, Luke reacher for the lightsaber still in his amputated hand, and with a gentle nudge it lept up and into Leia's outstreched hand.

In an instant Leia had ignited the jade blade and stabbed Desa through the heart.

Desa crumpled into a heap, the last of the old Jedi and Sith orders dead with him.

Gathering the last of his strength, Luke approached Leia and fell to one knee.

"Heil Leia Organa, Queen of the Empire!" he bellowed.

Then, one by one, the Imperial and Rebel officers also fell to one knee and echoed Luke's declaration of Leia as Queen of the Empire. In his shock, Han was the last to take a knee.

The Galaxy was free of the dark influence of the Sith and would never again be limited by the narrow view of the Jedi.

A New Force was Rising.


End file.
